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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Sports Car The Koenigsegg CCX

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Koenigsegg CCX

The Koenigsegg CCX started off with in a small factory somewhere in the
middle of Sweden and it was a project which was from the start seeking for the
world to take notice. The guys at Koenigsegg knew that they had to take hold of
the US car market and as a result the car was designed based on this basis.
From the onset the car had a focus on this market and did everything to make
sure that the regulations for them to be able to sell in the US were met.

The inner workings of the CCX

Although the car had been in development for a long time the unveiling of
the car only came in 2006 at the Geneva Motor show. The car had a very
performance based body shape that was specifically designed to meet US
regulations and it also had an in house built engine. The motor was a huge 4.7
liter twin supercharged V8 which reved like a smaller engine but had enough
torque to pull a truck. The big V8 produced 795 hp and it was capable of speed
that were just too dangerous to the point that the car was electronically
limited.

Koenigsegg Engine

When it came to power the designers at Koenigsegg could not get enough of it
and as a result they simply could not use anyone else's motor. They ended up
custom building their own motor which was constructed from an all aluminum
composite. The block was heat treated to ensure that it could withstand the
massive amount of heat and pressure from those twin superchargers and still be
able to keep its integrity. The power plant is built and tested off site and
goes through stringent tests that are akin to F1 testing procedures for
engines. The cars dry sump system enables the octane fuel that it uses to
become more economical and as a result on the open road this car is capable for
18 mpg, and for a car this powerful this is a massive achievement. To deal with
this amount of power the car had to have a torque sensitive limited slip
differential to counteract the likeness for the wheels to spin in flat out
turning situations.

As the car needed to be as light and as strong as possible
there was only one material that would suffice for the designers at Koenigsegg
and thats carbon fiber. No only was the chassis made for the lightest/strongest
material put on a road going vehicle the carbon fiber itself was reinforced to
make it stronger with kevlar and aluminum honeycomb composites to ensure that
the body could withstand the punishment that the car would go through. The car
also featured a very lean and low slung double bubble roof which improved
aerodynamic efficiency. Multiple air intakes helped to keep the engine cool as
it was mid engined layout. To improve upon the already aerodynamic body there
was a smooth finish applied to ever CCX which allowed the car to create a drag
coefficient of only 0.30, this aerodynamic efficiency was only spoilt by the
need and application of the rear spoiler which allowed car be somewhat
controllable at high speed in the corners.

Stopping Power

With all the speed that the CCX commands it would not have been cleared to
be sold in most countries without the brakes being on point. The car offers
carbon fiber wheels as an option with this option being around 5 kgs lighter
than standard alloy wheels. The brakes themselves are carbon ceramic brakes
which means that the material that they're made out of will make it virtually
impossible for them to fade under heavy use.

CCXR

After the success of the reveal in 2006 there began works to have another
more aggressive version of the CCX this was to be powered by the same engine.
Although the power plant was the same the car did not only run on the standard
octane petrol but it was also able to burn ethanol fuel. The car burned fuel
more economically due to its modified fuel injectors and upgraded piston rings
which helped increase the power to a 1000 horsepower. This amount of power is
only available if the car is running on the ethanol fuel. Although there were
some minor differences between the CCX and the CXXR , most of it was virtually
the same to its predecessor.

Motorsport and Legacy

A track version of the CCX was made to compete in the FIA GT Championship
the car that resulted was named the CCGT. Although it was based on the CCX the
car had been changed to further suit the needs of racing conditions. The car
featured a bigger engine and as result of trying to stamp out flat spots in the
rev range the cars superchargers were removed. The weight of the car was
already very low and due to this the car easily met weight regulations.
Unfortunately for Koenigsegg the rules for competing in GT1 changed and as a
result the CCGT was not able to compete in races.